Ravens HC John Harbaugh gives update on DL Derek Wolfe

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh gave an update on defensive lineman Derek Wolfe

The Baltimore Ravens suffered through many injuries during the 2021 season. They had players miss weeks, months or the entirety of the season, and they caught up with the team later in the year as they went through a six-game losing streak.

Baltimore head coach had his end of season press conference on Monday, and was asked about if there were any players who had surgery, and Harbaugh talked about how defensive lineman Derek Wolfe had hip surgery and detailed what it was for.

“…So, ‘Wolfy’ [Derek Wolfe] had a hip labrum surgery. He got his labrum repaired in his hip. So, we’ll see how that goes. That’s another one that’s recoverable from.”

Wolfe missed the entirety of the 2021 season, but was one of the Ravens’ best run stuffers in 2020 and played a big role in how successful the defense was, especially in the second half of the year. His loss was a big one, and hopefully he’ll be able to return at full strength for a team that is facing other questions on their defensive line at the moment.

Ole Miss vs LSU College Basketball Prediction, Game Preview

Ole Miss vs LSU prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch, lines, and why each team might – or might not – win on Tuesday.

Ole Miss vs LSU prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch: Tuesday, February 1


Ole Miss vs LSU How To Watch

Date: Tuesday, February 1
Game Time: 9:00 ET
Venue: Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, LA
How To Watch: SEC Network
Record: Ole Miss (11-10), LSU (16-5)
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Ole Miss vs LSU Game Preview


Why Ole Miss Will Win

Ole Miss has just enough defense to keep this close.

It might not be a rock at stopping teams from hitting their shots lately – yeah, sort of the whole point of playing defense – but it’s able to generate a whole slew of steals, points off the turnovers, and it should be able to keep this in the 60s.

LSU is a turnover machine.

It might be even better than Ole Miss at forcing mistakes – it leads the nation in steals – but it give the ball away in bunches. It only turned it over nine times against TCU, but lost to the hard-nosed defensive team. Before that, it got off the bus with 15 giveaways.

Ole Miss has to own the glass, make LSU try to shoot threes, and never, ever miss an opportunity because …

– Latest Polls AP | Coaches

Why LSU Will Win

Ole Miss stalls too much.

It’s not awful from the field, but it’s not hitting the threes lately. It’s fantastic on the free throw line, but it needs to generate more attempts.

LSU should be able to make up for its desire to seemingly foul everyone with lots and lots of pressure – it’s a wee bit of a high risk, high reward defense – and the defense that’s second in the nation in field goal percentage allowed should be able to clean up.

Ole Miss isn’t great from the field, and it’s not great on the offensive glass. That’s a bad combination against the Tigers.

Top 25 Game Previews, Predictions

What’s Going To Happen

Be somewhat stunned if this is any sort of a shootout.

LSU just couldn’t get going against TCU in an odd loss, and it’ll sputter at times against the Ole Miss defense. However, it’s better at getting on a roll from three, and it’s better defensively at keeping limited offenses from going off.

Ole Miss vs LSU Prediction, Lines

LSU 69, Ole Miss 57
Line: LSU -14.5, o/u: 125.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2

Must See Rating: 2.5

5: Peyton Manning in a kicky beret
1: Saturday Night Live

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2022 NFL Draft Underclassmen. Early Entrants
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | OTs | OG/Cs
Edge | DEs/DTs | LBs | CBs | Safeties | P/Ks
Top 30 2021 NFL Draft Early Entrants
2022 NFL Draft Early Entrants By College

Tigers ‘at the top’ for 5-star DL after elite junior day visit

Among the headlining visitors in attendance for Clemson’s elite junior day this past Saturday was Warner Robins (Ga.) High School five-star Vic Burley, the No. 6 defensive lineman and No. 33 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the …

Among the headlining visitors in attendance for Clemson’s elite junior day this past Saturday was Warner Robins (Ga.) High School five-star Vic Burley, the No. 6 defensive lineman and No. 33 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Burley (6-4, 275) spoke with The Clemson Insider about his experience on campus for the Tigers’ elite junior day.

“I enjoyed it well. It was a great visit,” he said. “It felt really familiar. I didn’t feel out of place. It just felt like I fit in.”

Burley, who received an offer from the Tigers on June 1 of last year, previously visited Clemson for the UConn game in November after also traveling to Tiger Town last June.

The highlight of his latest trip to Clemson was hanging out at head coach Dabo Swinney’s house with the other elite junior day visitors on hand.

“We ate, played around, went to the indoor basketball court,” he said. “Played basketball there, just having fun, just hanging out with everybody.”

Burley enjoyed catching up with fellow Peach State standout Justice Haynes, a four-star running back from Blessed Trinity Catholic High School (Roswell, Ga.). Burley also hit it off with Westside High School (Jacksonville, Fla.) four-star defensive lineman Jordan Hall and met five-star quarterback Cade Klubnik, who enrolled at Clemson in January.

“My boy Justice Haynes, he’s been my boy since we played them. That was my 10th grade year,” Burley said. “I built a bond with Jordan Hall. He was a cool dude to be around. I met Cade (Klubnik), the quarterback from Texas.”

Of the coaches, Burley spent the most time with Swinney and new defensive tackles coach Nick Eason.

“Their message wasn’t even about football to me,” Burley said. “It was just finding the right fit for yourself.”

Burley believes his bond with Swinney, Eason and Clemson’s staff grew stronger during Saturday’s visit.

“I felt like it got stronger during my visit, just being around them the whole time, just building more trust, more connection with them,” he said. “Those are great people, great dudes. There’s nothing negative you can say about them. There’s nothing negative you can say about the coaching staff in total.”

Burley hopes to make it back to Clemson during spring practice.

Where do the Tigers stand in his recruitment following the elite junior day?

“I know they’re at the top, I just don’t really have a good (feel) on my list right now,” he said. “But I know they’re at the top, though.”

Burley, who said his recruitment is “still pretty wide open,” is looking to make his commitment “probably around close to the end” of his upcoming senior season. He feels schools such as Ohio State, Georgia, Ole Miss, Auburn, Tennessee, Penn State and Florida State are recruiting him the hardest right now, along with Clemson.

One thing stands out the most to Burley when he thinks about Clemson’s program.

“They think more of the person than the athlete,” he said.

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Ravens HC John Harbaugh gives update on status of Greg Roman with team

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh gave an update on the status of Greg Roman with the team moving forward

The Baltimore Ravens have plenty of questions to answer as they go through a pivotal 2022 offseason. They will have to improve their team if they want to keep up with the rest of the NFL, which is evolving at a rapid rate.

On Monday, head coach John Harbaugh had his end of season press conference and answered a plethora of different questions about many different topics. One that came up multiple times was the status of Greg Roman with the team. Harbaugh said that nothing is a lock in life, but that the plan is for Roman to be back and that he’s excited about it.

“I mean, nothing is a lock. Nothing is a lock in life, to use that term, but I’m excited about it. I plan on [offensive coordinator] Greg [Roman] being back. I believe Greg plans on being back, but it’s still early. We’re only three weeks past the season. I know things happen fast for sure, just like you said, but that’s the plan, and I’m excited about that.

Harbaugh also talked about the vision for the offense and why the team fell short in 2021 on that side of the ball.

“Offensively, we’ve done some pretty darn good things here over the past three years offensively. I think we have a really good vision and understanding of what we want to build offensively, the players we want to build around and what we need to do it. We came up short this year in a lot of ways. If you look at it and you take a step back, it’s kind of interesting what we did. We gained a lot of yards, but we didn’t do a good enough job of turning yards into points – that’s really what it boiled down to.”

Roman has been a key contention point for many for the past year, as his offensive units have been great in some aspects, but struggled mightily in others. It sounds like Roman will get another chance to lead the Ravens offense, but if things go south to begin the year on that side of the ball early in the 2022 season then there could be a change. As Harbaugh said, nothing is a lock in life.

Andre Drummond challenged Tobias Harris to score 30 to beat Grizzlies

Andre Drummond challenged Tobias Harris to score 30 for the Philadelphia 76ers to beat the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Philadelphia 76ers knew they would need everybody to step up in order to knock off the Memphis Grizzlies at home. They did so as they got big games from mostly everybody, but the one player who needed a big game was Tobias Harris.

With Joel Embiid out due to a planned rest day, it was up to Tobias Harris to step up in a big way and be the guy they need him to be. Harris is Philadelphia’s highest-paid player so it was time to step up with Embiid out.

Harris dropped 31 points on 12-for-25 shooting and he knocked down two triples. It was a performance that was expected of him, but he was also challenged by his teammates to have a big game.

“I told him we needed 30 points today and he did it so I don’t think anything else needs to be said about that,” said Drummond. “That’s pretty much it. I told him after shootaround, if you don’t have 30 today, we’re not winning the game. He had 31. 31’s not enough. He could’ve had 35.”

Harris later added that Drummond did indeed challenge him to get 30, but he deflected praise to the rest of the team.

“Yeah, I told him with Joel out, we need an extra 50 points, really,” laughed Harris. “Tyrese (Maxey), he helped out in that regard, but just great efforts from everybody. At the beginning of the game, Seth (Curry) really didn’t have it going like that, but he hits a big shot for us. Danny Green comes in there in overtime, makes a huge 3.”

The Sixers have been on Harris to continue to get back to who he was before on the offensive end. It has been a weird season for him in terms of his scoring, but coach Doc Rivers was happy with what he saw on Monday.

“Again, quick decisions,” said Rivers. “Every time we got stagnant, we didn’t score. Every time we went downhill and made plays, we score. Tobias, we’ve really been getting him when he comes off to either go downhill like he did on one, or pull up for a jump shot instead of the floater and he’s doing that again.”

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Almost all Cardinals’ top skill players set to be free agents

The Cardinals’ top two running backs, top two tight ends and two of their top three receivers are all set to become free agents.

The Arizona Cardinals had a very good 2021 season, even if the ending was not what was hoped after a fast start. They want to build on that success in 2022, but to do that, they have a major obstacle in free agency.

Almost all their key skill players are not under contract in 2022.

These are the offensive starters set to be free agents when the new league year begins in March.

  • RB Chase Edmonds
  • RB James Conner
  • WR Christian Kirk
  • WR A.J. Green
  • TE Zach Ertz
  • TE Maxx Williams

That is their two best running backs, two of their three starting receivers and their two best tight ends.

How much offense do they account for?

  • 1,359 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns
  • 283 receptions for 3,283 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns

These six players accounted for 65% of their rushing yards, 71% of their passing offense and 64% of their offensive touchdowns.

They have a young receiver in Rondale Moore who can step into one of the roles, but they do not have running backs or tight ends who can be considered even near starting-caliber right now.

Whether it is bringing some or all of them back or replacing them with players at least equal in skill, this is going to be a hugely important offseason and might require head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s best offensive coaching to date.

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Panthers HC Matt Rhule reportedly told Eli Apple he’d ‘never play anywhere again’

According to Panthers beat writer Sheena Quick, Matt Rhule allegedly told Eli Apple he’d “never play anywhere again” upon cutting him in 2020.

You can’t tell former Carolina Panthers cornerback Eli Apple anything right now. After all, the guy’s about to be playing in the biggest game in all professional sports in a few weeks.

But Matt Rhule, reportedly upon parting ways with the defensive back last season, did indeed try to tell him something.

According to a “very close source” cited by Panthers beat writer Sheena Quick, Rhule allegedly told Apple he’d “never play anywhere again” after cutting him from the team in 2020. The 2016 first-round pick, after signing a one-year, $3 million deal that offseason, was released on Oct. 27 after appearing in just two games for Carolina.

If Rhule did tell him that, he was wrong. Apple has since landed back on his feet with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he started in 15 games during the regular season for the newly-crowned AFC champions.

A scathing report earlier in the campaign from Joseph Person of The Athletic also shed some unfavorable light on Rhule. The story described the emergence of a prickly culture—one where the second-year coach told his players he could be getting paid more in college, reprimanded another for signing autographs and displayed favoritism towards guys he previously rostered at Temple and Baylor.

Well, someone is still playing at the moment—and it isn’t anybody on Rhule’s team.

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NBA Twitter reacts to Steph Curry’s 40 point performance in Warriors’ win vs. Rockets on Monday

After Steph Curry put on a show for 40 points in the Warriors’ win over the Rockets on Monday, NBA Twitter chimed in with different reactions.

After hitting a game-winning jumper the last time the Golden State Warriors met the Houston Rockets, Steph Curry found a different way to leave his impact in Monday’s rematch.

Through the first three-quarters of the game, Curry tallied 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor as the Warriors gripped to a nine-point advantage over the Rockets. Yet in the fourth quarter, Golden State’s All-Star point guard wasn’t done.

With 12 minutes remaining in the contest, Curry took over. As the Warriors surged to a 122-108 win in Houston, Curry notched 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field with four 3-pointers in the final frame alone.

Despite his late fireworks, Curry appeared to receive some trash talk with Houston guard Kevin Porter Jr. after the pair of players exchanged buckets. Words from Porter Jr. in the second half seemed to spark Curry’s run in the fourth quarter.

Curry ended the final say, finishing the contest with a game-high 40 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the floor and 7-of-14 shooting from long distance. Curry added nine assists, five boards, a steal and a blocked shot in 38 minutes against the Rockets.

After battling a recent slump, Curry’s 40 point effort was his highest-scoring mark since a 46 point performance against the Memphis Grizzlies on Dec. 23, 2021.

Following Curry’s red-hot fourth quarter against the Rockets, the NBA community on Twitter chimed in with a flurry of reactions. Here’s a look at what fans and analysts were saying on Monday night.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook! 

Steph Curry bests Kevin Porter Jr. in late duel as Warriors hold off Rockets

Kevin Porter Jr. had a strong game for the Rockets and hit big second-half shots, but it wasn’t enough versus the Warriors and Steph Curry, whose 21 fourth-quarter points were a career high.

This time, it didn’t take until the final buzzer for All-Star guard Steph Curry to bury the Houston Rockets. The future Hall of Famer scored a game-high 40 points with seven 3-pointers, including the most fourth-quarter points (21) in any regular-season game of Curry’s storied career, lifting Golden State to a 122-108 victory (box score).

The Warriors (38-13) won their sixth straight game to stay at No. 2 in the Western Conference, while the Rockets (14-36) lost an 11th straight home game at Toyota Center and remain in last place.

This game, however, was much more fun and competitive than many of Houston’s other home losses since Dec. 8. After trailing by 18 points with barely over two minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Rockets fought back to within four on multiple occasions in the final quarter, but Curry’s barrage of treys kept them at arm’s length.

The key difference maker in Houston’s late comeback was Kevin Porter Jr. (17 points, 11 assists), who hit four 3-pointers in the second half and even got in some trash talk during a back-and-forth with Curry. After spending the first half largely as a facilitator, with 3 points and 8 assists, Porter took over as a scorer in the second half to keep things close.

Christian Wood led the Rockets with 24 points and 13 rebounds, but he took only one shot in the fourth quarter and also had a game-high 6 turnovers. Both Porter and Wood shot 5-of-9 on 3-pointers (55.6%).

Garrison Mathews added 11 points off the bench on 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range (50.0%), including multiple big makes in the fourth quarter to keep the Rockets within striking distance. Rookie Josh Christopher (13 points, 5 assists) also fared very well as a reserve in 19 minutes.

Unfortunately, those showings were offset by a pair of subpar nights in the starting lineup by veteran Eric Gordon and rookie Jalen Green, who combined for 22 points on 6-of-22 shooting (27.3%). For Green, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, his recent slump continues — though he did score in double-figures for a second straight game.

Houston will wrap up its four-game homestand with Wednesday’s visit from Cleveland, with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. Central. Until then, scroll on for highlights and postgame reaction from Monday night.

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Sixers react to a big night from Grizzlies star Ja Morant in OT win

The Philadelphia 76ers give their reaction to a big night from Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant in their big win.

The Philadelphia 76ers were able to come away with an impressive 122-119 overtime win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday as Joel Embiid rested, but they certainly had to earn this one.

Despite big performances from Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris, it almost didn’t matter as Grizzlies star Ja Morant seemed unstoppable. Morant finished with 37 points on 15-for-30 shooting and he scored 22 points combined in the third and fourth quarters. The Sixers had a tough time stopping him.

It did not matter what kind of defense Philadelphia threw at him, Morant was making a crazy assortment of acrobatic layups and And-1 finishes. It was a phenomenal performance for one of the game’s brightest stars.

“He’s just tough,” said coach Doc Rivers. “He’s a helluva player. Man, he made shot after shot after shot for them, but I kept telling our guys don’t overreact. His two points seem like they’re more than two and we talked about that at halftime. Like OK, I know it’s an amazing shot, but I swear to God, he only gets two points for them. So just don’t overreact and just keep playing. I thought we did that.”

With no Embiid, Morant was able to have his success at the rim. Andre Drummond more than made up for Embiid’s absence with three blocks of his own, but Morant made life miserable every time Drummond was switched onto him in the pick-and-roll.

“I feel like with that, he’s a great athlete,” Drummond explained. “He’s able to make spectacular plays, and get the ooh’s and ahh’s from the crowd, but at the end of the day, those are still two points. You don’t get extra points for style so we did a good job of just moving on to the next play and not falling asleep or falling into that lull of the cute plays.”

Tyrese Maxey went toe-to-toe with Morant as he scored 33 points of his own on 13-for-23 shooting and he had eight assists. The two of them also went back and forth a bit in this one as they were answering each other with impressive buckets.

“Two competitors trying to win,” said Maxey. “That’s about it. He’s an All-Star starter, we know what he can do, he’s very talented, dynamic getting downhill, and very athletic. We did our best to contain him and just try to get the W.”

Still, as Rivers and Drummond pointed out, no matter how tough or impressive Morant’s shots were, they all did count the same. The Sixers just had to move on to the next play and they did so by getting the win.

“He’s a great basketball player,” Drummond added of Morant. “He made great plays down the stretch and you gotta take your hat off to him, but we won the game so it doesn’t matter, that type of stuff.”

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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